Finnish neopaganism

Finnish Neopaganism, or the Finnish native faith (Finnish: Suomenusko: "Finnish Faith") is the contemporary Neopagan revival of Finnish paganism, the pre-Christian polytheisticethnic religion of the Finns. A precursor movement was the Ukonusko ("Ukko's Faith", revolving around the god Ukko) of the early 20th century, the main problem in the revival of Finnish paganism is the nature of pre-Christian Finnish culture, which relied on oral tradition and of which very little is left.[1] The primary sources concerning Finnish native culture are written by latter-era Christians.

There are two main organisations of the religion, the "Association of Finnish Native Religion" (Suomalaisen kansanuskon yhdistys ry) based in Helsinki and officially registered since 2002,[2] and the "Pole Star Association" (Taivaannaula ry) headquartered in Turku with branches in many cities, founded and officially registered in 2007.[3] The Association of Finnish Native Religion also caters to Karelians[4] and is a member of the Uralic Communion.[5]

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Pagan beliefs, traditions and myths survived for a long time side by side with official Lutheranism in Eastern Finland and in Karelia, at least until the first part of the 20th century,[6] the first efforts of recovery of ancient mythology were carried out to enrich national Finnish culture.[7][8]

Nature worship, respect for traditions, and equality are typical features of the Neopagan movement. The Finnish native religion can be defined as "ethno-pagan", as it is related to national consciousness and identity.[9] Finnish native religion followers do not necessarily consider themselves "Neopagans" or identify with new religions such as Wicca.[10]

They emphasise love for the motherland as a key content of a balanced relationship of humans with nature, old and new generations, as well as individual and community, the Finnish native faith believers hold sacred many unspoiled natural places, woods, springs and rocks.[11] They consider the numinous presence of the gods, the ancestors and the spirits, as pervading the natural sites and environments (hiisi).

In 2013 the Taivaannaula launched a national project on Finnish holy places and sites in order to increase awareness and protection;[12] in 2014 Karhun kansa (People of the Bear) was officially registered as an organised religious community, becoming the first neopagan association given such status in Finland. The status brings the authority for example to marry, bury and give names.[13]

The religion also includes an element of ancestor worship, for Finnish native religion adherents, the afterlife is a place called Tuonela, and it is a place where several different deities live, including Tuoni.

Various traditional festivals are followed, including Hela, a festival celebrating the coming of spring and the new growing season, Juhannus or Ukon juhla, the midsummer festival, Kekri, a celebration of harvest and the ancestors, and Joulu, the midwinter festival.

Some Finnish Neopagans visit sacred forests, where wooden god-images or sacred stones can sometimes be found, some celebrate the circling of the year at certain dates, for example by burning bonfires, dancing, sacrificing, or making other kinds of rituals. One ritual, which is also an authentic practice of the ancestors, is to drink a toast for the thunder god Ukko at the midsummer festival (Finnish: Ukon juhla).[14]

^Maavalla Koda, "Uralic Communion" section. Quote: «In 10214 (2001) Maavalla Koda together with the representatives of Finnish (Suomen kansanuskon yhdistus ry.), Mari (Osh mari Chi mari and Sorta) and Erzya indigenous religions founded the Uralic Communion. The aim of the Uralic Communion is to establish contacts between different indigenous religions and to contribute to the maintenance and strengthening of these religions.»

1.
Modern Paganism
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Although they do share similarities, contemporary Pagan religious movements are diverse and no single set of beliefs, practices, or texts are shared by them all. Not all members of faiths or beliefs regarded as Neopagan self-identify as Pagan, academic research has placed the Pagan movement along a spectrum, with Eclecticism on one end and Polytheistic Reconstructionism on the other. Polytheism, animism, and pantheism are common features in Pagan theology, rituals take place in both public and in private domestic settings. The Pagan relationship with Christianity is often strained, contemporary Paganism has sometimes been associated with the New Age movement, with scholars highlighting both similarities and differences. From the 1990s onward, scholars studying the modern Pagan movement have established the field of Pagan studies. There is considerable disagreement as to the definition and proper usage of the term modern Paganism. Even within the field of Pagan studies, there is no consensus regarding how contemporary Paganism can best be defined. Most scholars describe modern Paganism as an array of different religions rather than a singular religion in itself. Thus, he expressed the view that although a diverse phenomenon. However, while viewing different forms of Paganism as distinct religions in their own right, the various Pagan religions have been academically classified as new religious movements, with the anthropologist Kathryn Rountree describing Paganism as a whole as a new religious phenomenon. A number of academics, particularly in North America, have considered modern Paganism to be a form of nature religion. Some practitioners eschew the term Pagan altogether, choosing not to themselves as such. This is because the term Pagan has its origins in Christian terminology, alternately, many practitioners within these regions view Native Faith as a category that exists within modern Paganism but which does not encompass all Pagan religions. Other terms sometimes favored by Pagans are traditional religion, indigenous religion, nativist religion, Further, they have suggested that all of these could be defined under the banner of paganism or Paganism. This approach has received critically by many specialists in religious studies. Many scholars have favored the use of Neopaganism to describe this phenomenon, with the prefix neo- serving to distinguish the modern religions from their ancient. Some Pagan practitioners also prefer Neopaganism, believing that the prefix conveys the nature of the religion, including for instance its rejection of superstition. Accordingly, to avoid causing offense many scholars in the English-speaking world have begun using the modern or contemporary rather than neo

2.
Finnish paganism
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Finnish paganism was the indigenous pagan religion in Finland, Estonia, and Karelia prior to Christianisation. It was a religion, worshipping a number of different deities. The principal god was the god of thunder and the sky, Ukko, other important gods included Jumi, Ahti, Finnish paganism shows many similarities with the religious practices of neighbouring cultures, such as Germanic, Norse and Baltic paganism. However, it has distinct differences due to the Uralic and Finnic culture of the region. Finnish paganism provided the inspiration for a contemporary pagan movement Suomenusko, the Finnish pagans were polytheistic, believing in a number of different deities. Most of the ruled over a specific aspect of nature, for instance, Ukko was the god of the sky. These deities were often pan-Finnic, being worshipped by different tribes in different regions. The Finnish pagans were also animists, worshipping local nature deities at site-specific shrines to that particular deity, several key deities were venerated across nearly all of Finland and Karelia. These pan-Finnic deities controlled many aspects of nature, the chief god was Ukko, who was the ruler over the sky and thunder. A corresponding figure is known among other Scandinavian, Sami, and Baltic religions, such as the Norse Thor, there were many other important deities who ruled over a specific aspect of the natural world, and who have been referred to as kings. The king of water was often called Ahti, and the king of the forest was Tapio. Other major deities included Äkräs, the god of fertility, Mielikki, the goddess of the forests and the hunt, Kuu, the goddess of the moon, and Lempo, local animistic deities, known as haltijas, were also worshipped. These haltijas could be male or female, and could take a human or another animals form, haltijas could be found everywhere in the nature, both in the biotic and abiotic parts. Every human has a haltija, usually called haltijasielu or luontohaltija, certain haltiat, known as maan haltija, guarded the property of an individual, including their house and livestock. Votive offerings would be given to these maan haltioille at a shrine, in thanks for the help given, sometimes haltiat of certain families and farms acted against other families and their farms by stealing their wealth or making the animals infertile, for instance. Many local haltiat were believed to have originally been the sacred spirits of ancestors, in some cases a haltia was the first inhabitant of house. Sometimes while making a new house a local spirit of nature could be employed to work as a maan haltija, different elements and environments had their own haltijas. Haltijas were grouped into types or races called väki, there were, for instance, different väki of water, forests, and graveyards

3.
Polytheistic
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Polytheism is the worship of or belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religions and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism, within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, the belief in a singular God, in most cases transcendent. Polytheists do not always worship all the gods equally, but they can be henotheists, other polytheists can be kathenotheists, worshiping different deities at different times. Polytheism was the form of religion during the Bronze Age and Iron Age up to the Axial Age and the development of Abrahamic religions. Important polytheistic religions practiced today include Chinese traditional religion, Hinduism, Japanese Shinto, the term comes from the Greek πολύ poly and θεός theos and was first invented by the Jewish writer Philo of Alexandria to argue with the Greeks. When Christianity spread throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, non-Christians were just called Gentiles or pagans or by the pejorative term idolaters. The modern usage of the term is first revived in French through Jean Bodin in 1580, a central, main division in polytheism is between soft polytheism and hard polytheism. Hard polytheism is the belief that gods are distinct, separate, real divine beings, hard polytheists reject the idea that all gods are one god. Hard polytheists do not necessarily consider the gods of all cultures as being equally real, Polytheism cannot be cleanly separated from the animist beliefs prevalent in most folk religions. The gods of polytheism are in cases the highest order of a continuum of supernatural beings or spirits. In some cases these spirits are divided into celestial or chthonic classes, since divinity is intellectual, and all intellect returns into itself, this myth expresses in allegory the essence of divinity. Myths may be regarded physically when they express the activities of gods in the world, the psychological way is to regard the activities of the soul itself and or the souls acts of thought. The material is to regard material objects to actually be gods, for example, to call the earth Gaia, ocean Okeanos, Some well-known historical polytheistic pantheons include the Sumerian gods and the Egyptian gods, and the classical-attested pantheon which includes the ancient Greek religion and Roman religion. Post-classical polytheistic religions include Norse Æsir and Vanir, the Yoruba Orisha, the Aztec gods, an example of a religious notion from this shared past is the concept of *dyēus, which is attested in several distinct religious systems. In many civilizations, pantheons tended to grow over time, deities first worshipped as the patrons of cities or places came to be collected together as empires extended over larger territories. Conquests could lead to the subordination of the elder cultures pantheon to a one, as in the Greek Titanomachia. Most ancient belief systems held that gods influenced human lives, epicurus believed that these gods were material, human-like, and that they inhabited the empty spaces between worlds. Though it is suggested that Hestia stepped down when Dionysus was invited to Mount Olympus, robert Graves The Greek Myths cites two sources that obviously do not suggest Hestia surrendered her seat, though he suggests she did

4.
Ethnic religion
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Ethnic religion, alongside indigenous religion, is a term used within religious studies to describe various expressions of religion associated with a particular ethnic group. Ethnic religions are often distinguished from religions which claim to not be limited in ethnic or national scope, ethnic religions do not have to be excluded to independent religions. A number of terms have been used instead of ethnic or indigenous religions. The term primal religion was coined by Andrew Walls in the University of Aberdeen in the 1970s to provide a focus on forms of religion as found in Africa, Asia. Cox prefers to use the indigenous religion. Another term that is used is folk religion. While ethnic religion and folk religion have overlapping uses, the term implies the appropriation of religious beliefs. Ethnic religions are distinctive in their relationship with an ethnic group. Some ethnic religions can be strong, for instance Hinduism of the Indians, Judaism of the Jews, Shenism of the Han Chinese. Some ancient ethnic religions, such as those found in pre-modern Europe, have found new vitality in neopaganism. Moreover, non-ethnic religions such as Christianity have been known to assume ethnic traits to an extent that they serve a role as an important ethnic identity marker, animism Ancestor worship Endogamy List of ethnic religions List of Neopagan movements National god Shamanism Totemism

5.
Finns
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Finns or Finnish people are a Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland. Also, some of these may be classified as ethnic groups. These include the Kvens and Forest Finns in Norway, the Tornedalians in Sweden, the most notable autochthonous group is the Finnish-speaking population of Sweden, who trace their origin to Second Swedish Crusade after which Finland came under Swedish rule. Finnish, the language spoken by most Finnic people, is related to other Finnic languages. The Finnic languages are a subgroup to the Uralic family of languages and these languages are markedly different from most other languages spoken in Europe, which belong to the Indo-European family of languages. Native Finns can also be divided according to dialect into subgroups sometimes called heimo, the Population Register Centre maintains information on the birthplace, citizenship and mother tongue of the people living in Finland, but does not specifically categorize any as Finns by ethnicity. The majority of living in the Republic of Finland consider Finnish to be their first language. According to Statistics Finland, of the total population of 5,300,484 at the end of 2007,91. 2% considered Finnish to be their native language. It is not known how many of the ethnic Finns living outside Finland speak Finnish as their first language, Finns have been traditionally divided into sub-groups along regional, dialectical or ethnographical lines. These subgroups include the people of Finland Proper, Satakunta, Tavastia, Savo and these sub-groups express regional self-identity with varying frequency and significance. Historically, there were three dialects, the South-Western, Tavastian, and Karelian, the Sweden Finns are either native to Sweden or have emigrated from Finland to Sweden. An estimated 450,000 first- or second-generation immigrants from Finland live in Sweden, the majority moved from Finland to Sweden following the Second World War, taking advantage of the rapidly expanding Swedish economy. This emigration peaked in 1970 and has been declining since, there are also native Finnish-speaking minorities in Sweden, e. g. the Tornedalingar and the Finns of Dalecarlia. The Finnish language has official status as one of five minority languages in Sweden, the term Finns is also used for other Finnic peoples, including Izhorians in Ingria, Karelians in Karelia and Veps in the former Veps National Volost, all in Russia. Among these groups, the Karelians is the most populous one, according to a 2002 census, it was found that Ingrians also indetify with Finnish ethnic identity, referring to themselves as Ingrian Finns. The Finnish term for Finns is suomalaiset and it is a matter of debate how best to designate the Finnish-speakers of Sweden, all of whom have migrated to Sweden from Finland. Historical references to Northern Europe are scarce, and the given to its peoples and geographic regions are obscure, therefore

6.
Ukko
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Ukko, or Äijä or Äijö, parallel in Estonian mythology to Uku, is the god of the sky, weather, harvest and thunder in Finnish mythology. The Finnish word for thunder, Ukkonen, is the form of the name Ukko. Some researchers believe that Ilmarinen, another Finnic sky god, is the origin of Ukko, Ukko is held the most significant god of Finnish mythology, although it is disputed by scholars whether this is accountable to later Christian influence. In the folk poems and prayers he is given the epithet Ylijumala, probably in reference to his status as the most highly regarded god. Other names for Ukko include Pitkänen, Isäinen, Isoinen, although portrayed active in myth, Ukko makes all his appearances in legend solely by natural phenomena when appealed to. According to Haavio, the name Ukko was sometimes used as a noun or generalised epithet for multiple deities instead of denoting a specific god. It is likely that the figure of Ukko is mostly Indo-European, possibly Baltic, tuuri, a Germanic loan and cognate of Thor, was possibly an alternate name for Ukko. Tuuri is rarely encountered in Finnish mythology, and had relegated to the mere role of deity of harvest. It is possible that when Ukko took the position of the sky god Ilmarinen. Stories tell about Ilmarinen vaulting the sky-dome, whether Ilmarinen was an earlier, assumably Uralic sky deity is regardless highly questionable. Some researchers hold Ilmarinen and Ukko equivalent, the Sami worshipped a similar deity, called Aijeke, probably as result of cultural cross-contamination or common origin. The god was equated with Horagalles, Ukko possessed a weapon, often a hammer called Ukonvasara, sometimes also an axe or a sword, by which he struck lightning. Ukkos weapon was largely comparable to the Norse Mjölnir, and Iron Age emblematic pendants depicting hammers, like Mjölnir, Ukkos weapon has been linked by some to the boat-shaped battle axes of the Corded Ware culture. Thunderbolts were sometimes called Ukon vaaja or Ukon nuoli and it is possible that the Birch bark letter no. He also was believed to cause thunderstorms by driving his chariot through the skies, a viper with a serrated line on its back was considered a symbol of thunder. Neolithic stone carvings have found in Russian Karelia which have features of both snakes and lightning. It is, however, uncertain whether these are connected to the figure of Ukko. Evidence for worship of snakes is found among different cultures around the Baltic, there is evidence that the rowan tree was held sacred to Ukko

7.
Helsinki
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Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. Helsinki has a population of 629,512, a population of 1,231,595. Helsinki is located some 80 kilometres north of Tallinn, Estonia,400 km east of Stockholm, Sweden, Helsinki has close historical connections with these three cities. The Helsinki metropolitan area includes the core of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen. It is the worlds northernmost metro area of one million people. The Helsinki metropolitan area is the fourth largest metropolitan area in the Nordic countries, Helsinki is Finlands major political, educational, financial, cultural, and research center as well as one of northern Europes major cities. Approximately 75% of foreign companies operating in Finland have settled in the Helsinki region, the nearby municipality of Vantaa is the location of Helsinki Airport, with frequent service to various destinations in Europe and Asia. In 2009, Helsinki was chosen to be the World Design Capital for 2012 by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, the city was the venue for the 1952 Summer Olympics and the 52nd Eurovision Song Contest 2007. In 2011, the Monocle magazine ranked Helsinki the most liveable city in the world in its Liveable Cities Index 2011, in the Economist Intelligence Units August 2015 Liveability survey, assessing the best and worst cities to live in globally, Helsinki placed among the worlds top ten cities. Helsinki is used to refer to the city in most languages, the Swedish name Helsingfors is the original official name of the city. The Finnish name probably comes from Helsinga and similar names used for the river that is known as the Vantaa River. Helsingfors comes from the name of the parish, Helsinge and the rapids, which flowed through the original village. As part of the Grand Duchy of Finland in the Russian Empire, one suggestion for the origin of the name Helsinge is that it originated with medieval Swedish settlers who came from Hälsingland in Sweden. Others have proposed that the name derives from the Swedish word helsing, other Scandinavian cities located at similar geographic locations were given similar names at the time, for example Helsingør and Helsingborg. The name Helsinki has been used in Finnish official documents and in Finnish language newspapers since 1819, the decrees issued in Helsinki were dated with Helsinki as the place of issue. This is how the form Helsinki came to be used in written Finnish, in Helsinki slang the city is called Stadi. Hesa, is not used by natives to the city, helsset is the Northern Sami name of Helsinki

8.
Turku
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Turku is a city on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Southwest Finland. Turku, as a town, was settled during the 13th century and founded most likely at the end of the 13th century and it quickly became the most important city in Finland, a status it retained for hundreds of years. Because of its history, it has been the site of many important events. Along with Tallinn, the city of Estonia, Turku was designated the European Capital of Culture for 2011. In 1996, it was declared the official Christmas City of Finland, due to its location, Turku is a notable commercial and passenger seaport with over three million passengers traveling through the Port of Turku each year to Stockholm and Mariehamn. As of 31 December 2016, the population of Turku was 187,564, there were 318,168 inhabitants living in the Turku sub-region, ranking it as the third largest urban area in Finland after the Greater Helsinki area and Tampere sub-region. The city is bilingual as 5.2 percent of its population identify Swedish as a mother-tongue. The Finnish name Turku originates from an Old East Slavic word, tǔrgǔ, the word turku still means market place in some idioms in Finnish. The Swedish word for market place is torg, and was borrowed from Old East Slavic. The Swedish name Åbo may be a combination of å. As this pattern does not appear in any other Swedish place names in Finland, one theory is that it comes from Aabo, the Finnish rendition of the Russian Avram, which could also be the origin of the name of the river Aura. There is however an old legal term called åborätt, which gave citizens the right to live at land owned by the crown. In Finnish, the genitive of Turku is Turun, meaning of Turku, the Finnish names of organizations and institutes of Turku often begin with this word, as in Turun yliopisto for the University of Turku. Turku has a history as Finlands largest city and occasionally as the administrative center of the country. The citys identity stems from its status as the oldest city in Finland, originally, the word Finland referred only to the area around Turku. Although archaeological findings in the date back to the Stone Age. The Cathedral of Turku was consecrated in 1300, during the Middle Ages, Turku was the seat of the Bishop of Turku, covering the then eastern half of the Kingdom of Sweden until the 17th century. Even if Turku had no official status, both the short-lived institutions of Dukes and Governors-General of Finland usually had their Finnish residences there

9.
Karelians
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The Karelians are a nation that belongs to Baltic-Finnic ethnic group that are currently living in Finland and Russia. In Russia Karelians mostly settle in the Republic of Karelia and in other parts of the Russian Federation. There are also significant Karelian enclaves in the Tver and Novgorod region, in Finland they traditionally settle in the regions of Savonia and Northern and Southern Karelia. The historic homeland of the Karelians has been the Karelian Isthmus, Ladoga Karelia, Olonets Karelia in Russia, the first written mention of Karelia and Karelians occurs in Scandinavian sources. Another mention of Karelians in Scandinavian sources is The Chronicle of Erik, part of the Chronicle mentions a Karelian raid to the, then notable, Swedish town of Sigtuna in 1187 and its subsequent pillage. This mention of Karelian raids on Sweden in the chronicle is given as the reason to found Stockholm - the current capital of Sweden. The first mention of Karelians in ancient Russian chronicles is dated 1143 AD when the Novgorod chronicle mentions that Karelians raided neighbouring Tavastia, ancient Russian chronicles referred to ancient Karelians as Koryela. Until the end of 13th century Karelians have enjoyed period of relative independence, however, as Karelians came in contact with Novgorod some of them started to take part in the Novgorodian internal and external politics. Russian chronicles mention joint raid of Novgorod and Karelians on Tavastia in 1191, in 1253, Karelians are aiding Novgorod in its wars with Estonians. In 1269 AD The duke of Novgorod is planning a raid against Karelians, plans are abandoned as he is advised against it by his councilors. In 1278, Novgorod makes war against Karelians and according to the chronicle puts Karelian lands to sword and fire, while Novgorod was unsuccessfully trying to subdue Karelians, Sweden was successfully doing the same with the neighbouring Finnish tribes. In 1293 Swedes raided Karelian lands and successfully founded a castle of Vyborg on the site of an ancient Karelian settlement, Sweden began to convert the local Karelian population to Roman Catholicism. In 1295, Sweden attempted to establish a dominance of Karelian lands by founding a castle of Köxholm on the site of ancient Karelian settlement of Käkisalmi. However this time Novgorod manages to repel Swedish attack by capturing and burning down the castle, after this both Sweden and Novgorod engage in the long conflict over dominance of Karelians and their lands. In 1314 AD Karelians rebel over the attempt to convert them to Christianity according to the Novgorod chronicle and it is interesting to note that first rebellion started against Russian Orthodixy by capturing Käkisalmi and killing all Christians there. Then the rebelling spreads over all Karelian lands, which sufficiently weakens Novgorodian influence, in 1323 AD, Karelians suffer a forceful sundering as Sweden and Novgorod divide Karelian lands and their inhabitants by signing a peace agreement. The agreement transfers governance of all western Karelian lands to Swedish sovereignty, subsequent wars have shown that Karelians were fighting on both sides of the conflict and often against each other. At the same time Karelians on the Novgorodian and later Russian side of the continued to settle northward towards the White Sea

10.
Uralic neopaganism
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Uralic Neopaganism is a category encompassing contemporary movements which have been reviving or revitalising the ethnic religions of the Uralic peoples. In fact, Neopagan movements in Finland and Estonia have much older roots, the Uralic Communion, founded in 2001, is an organisation for the cooperation of different institutions promoting Uralic indigenous religions. The Estonian native religion, or Estonian Neopaganism, is the name, in English, both the kinds of the movement are administered by the Maavalla Koda organisation. According to a 2002 survey, 11% of the population of Estonia claim that out of all the religions they have the warmest feelings towards Taaraism and Maausk. The Finnish native religion, or Finnish Neopaganism, is the contemporary Neopagan revival of Finnish paganism, a precursor movement was the Ukkousko of the early 20th century. The main problem in the revival of Finnish paganism is the nature of pre-Christian Finnish culture, the primary sources concerning Finnish native culture are written by latter-era Christians. They may be biased, tainted or unreliable, the national epic is the Kalevala. The Association of Finnish Native Religion also caters to Karelians and is a member of the Uralic Communion. The Mari native religion, also Mari Neopaganism, is the religion of the Mari people. Unlike other neopagan movements, the Mari native religion, called Marla, is probably among the ones to have been practiced without interruption since the Neolithic. The religion has undergone changes over time, particularly under the influence of neighbouring monotheisms, in the last few decades, while keeping its traditional features in the countryside, an organised Neopagan revival has taken place. The Mari religion is based on the worship of the forces of nature, before the spread of monotheistic teachings amongst the Mari, they worshipped many gods, while recognising the primacy of a Great God, Kugu Jumo. In the 19th century, influenced by monotheism, the Pagan beliefs altered, some activists claim that the Mari native religion believers are subject to pressure by Russian authorities as part of a wider campaign to Russify Mari culture. Vitaly Tanakov, an adherent of the faith, was charged with inciting religious, national, social, the name of the originating god according to the Mordvin tradition is Ineshkipaz. The Neopagan revival was started in 1990, alongside that of other native religions in Russia. According to scholar Victor Schnirelmann 2% of the Mordvins adhere to the Mordvin native faith, adherents of the Erzyan Mastor organisation organise the Rasken Ozks, a national Mordvin worship service held yearly, with participation also of members of the Mastorava organisation and other ones. Udmurt Vos is the religious revival of the Udmurts, a Volga Finnic ethnic group mostly inhabiting their republic within Russia. Amongst the Udmurts, as in other Finno-Ugric republics in the Volga region, the Udmurtian Pagan revival circles sprang out of the Demen movement which was established in December 1989 for the protection and restoration of the Udmurt ethnic culture

11.
Finland
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Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. A peninsula with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, the country has borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north. Estonia is south of the country across the Gulf of Finland, Finland is a Nordic country situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia, which also includes Scandinavia. Finlands population is 5.5 million, and the majority of the population is concentrated in the southern region,88. 7% of the population is Finnish people who speak Finnish, a Uralic language unrelated to the Scandinavian languages, the second major group are the Finland-Swedes. In terms of area, it is the eighth largest country in Europe, Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital Helsinki, local governments in 311 municipalities, and an autonomous region, the Åland Islands. Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, from the late 12th century, Finland was an integral part of Sweden, a legacy reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. In the spirit of the notion of Adolf Ivar Arwidsson, we are not Swedes, we do not want to become Russians, let us therefore be Finns, nevertheless, in 1809, Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1906, Finland became the nation in the world to give the right to vote to all adult citizens. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland declared itself independent, in 1918, the fledgling state was divided by civil war, with the Bolshevik-leaning Reds supported by the equally new Soviet Russia, fighting the Whites, supported by the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a kingdom, the became a republic. During World War II, the Soviet Union sought repeatedly to occupy Finland, with Finland losing parts of Karelia, Salla and Kuusamo, Petsamo and some islands, Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and established an official policy of neutrality. The Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics during the Cold War era, Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialization, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. It rapidly developed an advanced economy while building an extensive Nordic-style welfare state, resulting in widespread prosperity, however, Finnish GDP growth has been negative in 2012–2014, with a preceding nadir of −8% in 2009. Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, a large majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, though freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Finnish Constitution. The first known appearance of the name Finland is thought to be on three rune-stones. Two were found in the Swedish province of Uppland and have the inscription finlonti, the third was found in Gotland, in the Baltic Sea. It has the inscription finlandi and dates from the 13th century, the name can be assumed to be related to the tribe name Finns, which is mentioned first known time AD98. The name Suomi has uncertain origins, but a candidate for a source is the Proto-Baltic word *źemē, in addition to the close relatives of Finnish, this name is also used in the Baltic languages Latvian and Lithuanian

12.
Karelia
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Karelia, the land of the Karelian peoples, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Finland, Russia, and Sweden. It is currently divided between the Russian Republic of Karelia, the Russian Leningrad Oblast, and Finland, various subdivisions may be called Karelia. Finnish Karelia was a province of Finland, and is now divided between Finland and Russia, often called just Karjala in Finnish. The eastern part of this chiefly Lutheran area was ceded to Russia after the Winter War of 1939–40 and this area is the Karelia of the Karelian question in Finnish politics. The Republic of Karelia is a Russian federal subject, including the so-called East Karelia with a chiefly Russian Orthodox population, Karelia stretches from the White Sea coast to the Gulf of Finland. It contains the two largest lakes in Europe, Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega, the Karelian Isthmus is located between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga. In the North there were the nomadic Samis, but no natural border except for huge woods, in historical texts Karelia is sometimes divided into East Karelia and West Karelia, which are also called Russian Karelia and Finnish Karelia respectively. The area to the north of Lake Ladoga which belonged to Finland before World War II is called Ladoga Karelia, White Sea Karelia is the northern part of East Karelia and Olonets Karelia is the southern part. Tver Karelia denotes the villages in the Tver Oblast that are inhabited by Tver Karelians, the Treaty of Nöteborg in 1323 divided Karelia between the two. Viborg became the capital of the new Swedish province, in the Treaty of Stolbovo in 1617 large parts of Russian Karelia were ceded to Sweden. Conflicts between the new Swedish rulers and the population of these areas led to an exodus, thousands of Karelians, including the ancestors of the Tver Karelians. The Treaty of Nystad in 1721 between Imperial Russia and Sweden ceded most of Karelia to Russia, after Finland had been occupied by Russia in the Finnish War, parts of the ceded provinces were incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1917, Finland became independent and the border was confirmed by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, Finnish partisans were involved in attempts to overthrow the Bolshevists in Russian Karelia in 1918–20, such as in the failed Aunus expedition. They also wanted to incorporate the rest of Karelia into Finland and these mainly private expeditions ended after the peace treaty of Tartu. After the end of the Russian Civil War and the establishment of the Soviet Union in 1922, in 1939, the Soviet Union attacked Finland, thus starting the Winter War. The Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940 handed most of Finnish Karelia to the Soviet Union, about 400,000 people, virtually the whole population, had to be relocated within Finland. In 1941, Karelia was liberated for three years during the Continuation War of 1941 to 1944 when East Karelia was occupied by the Finns. As a consequence of the treaty, the Karelian ASSR was incorporated with the Karelo-Finnish SSR 1941–1956

13.
Nature religion
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A nature religion is a religious movement that believes the natural world is an embodiment of divinity, sacredness or spiritual power. Nature religions include indigenous religions practiced in parts of the world by cultures who consider the environment to be imbued with spirits. It also includes contemporary Pagan faiths such as Wicca, Neo-Druidism and the Goddess movement, following on from Albaneses development of the term it has since been used by other academics working in the discipline. Peter Beyer noted the existence of a series of characteristics which he believed were shared by different nature religions. Furthermore, Beyer noted, nature religionists often held a concomitant distrust of, instead of this, he felt that among nature religious communities, there was a valuing of community as non-hierarchical and a conditional optimism with regard to human capacity and the future. In the sphere of the environment, Beyer noted that nature religionists held to a conception of reality. Similarly, Beyer noted the individualism which was favoured by nature religionists, along similar lines, he also commented on the strong experiential basis to nature religionist beliefs where personal experience is a final arbiter of truth or validity

14.
Wicca
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Wicca, also termed Pagan Witchcraft, is a contemporary Pagan new religious movement. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, Wicca draws upon a diverse set of ancient pagan and 20th century hermetic motifs for its theological structure and ritual practices. There are many variations on the structure, and the religion grows. It is divided into a number of lineages, sects and denominations, referred to as traditions, each with its own organizational structure. Due to its nature, there is some disagreement over what actually constitutes Wicca. Wicca is typically duotheistic, worshipping a Goddess and a God and these are traditionally viewed as the Moon Goddess and the Horned God, respectively. These deities may be regarded in a way, as having many different divine aspects which can in turn be identified with many diverse pagan deities from different historical pantheons. For this reason, they are referred to as the Great Goddess. These two deities are viewed as facets of a greater pantheistic divinity, which is regarded as an impersonal force or process rather than a personal deity. While duotheism or bitheism is traditional in Wicca, broader Wiccan beliefs range from polytheism to pantheism or monism, an unattributed statement known as the Wiccan Rede is a popular expression of Wiccan morality, although it is not accepted by all Wiccans. Wicca often involves the practice of magic, though it is not always necessary. Scholars of religious studies classify Wicca as a new religious movement, several academics have also categorised Wicca as a form of nature religion, a term that is also embraced by many of the faiths practitioners. However, given that Wicca also incorporates the practice of magic, Wicca is also a form of Western esotericism, and more specifically a part of the esoteric current known as occultism. The terms wizard and warlock are generally discouraged in the community, in Wicca, denominations are referred to as traditions, while non-Wiccans are often termed cowans. When the religion first came to attention, it was commonly called Witchcraft. For instance, Gerald Gardner—the man regarded as the Father of Wicca—referred to it as the Craft of the Wise, witchcraft, there is no evidence that he ever called it Wicca, although he did refer to the collective community of Pagan Witches as the Wica. As a name for the religion, Wicca developed in Britain during the 1960s, the first recorded use of the word Wicca appears in 1962, and it had been popularised to the extent that several British practitioners founded a newsletter called The Wiccan in 1968. In early sources Wicca referred to the entirety of the rather than specific traditions

15.
Akka (spirit)
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Akka is a female spirit in Sami shamanism and Finnish mythology. Worship of the akka was common and took the form of sacrifices, pleas for help, some Sámi believed the akka lived under their tents. As with other gods, the name appears within some geographical names, leaving a legacy of Sami presence. Maderakka, the first akka, was mother of the tribe, goddess of women and children, she who gives humans their bodies, women belong to her, maderakka is popular among modern Sámi feminists. The modern Sámi womens organisation The Sarahkka formed in 1988 and is named in honor of her, juksakka, akka with an arrow, is the protector of children. Uksakka shapes the fetus in the womb and assigns humans their sex. Jabme-Akka, the akka of the dead, is a goddess of the underworld, spirits of lost babies are soothed and comforted by her, but all other spirits dwell in sorrow. The land of the dead is said to be a mirror of the land of the living where everything is the opposite, so, the dead are buried with the essentials of living and anything that would make their afterlife better. In Finnish mythology, Akka is the wife of Ukko and is the goddess of fertility, as they make love, thunder rolls. She could be seen as the side of nature, Maaemonen mother earth. In Estonian mythology she is known as Maan-Emo

16.
Ilmarinen
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Ilmarinen, the Eternal Hammerer, blacksmith and inventor in the Kalevala, is a god and an archetypal artificer from Finnish mythology. He is immortal and capable of creating practically anything, but is portrayed as being unlucky in love and he is described as working the known metals of the time, including brass, copper, iron, gold and silver. The great works of Ilmarinen include the crafting of the dome of the sky and his usual epithet in the Kalevala is seppo, a poetic word for smith and the source of the given name Seppo. This noun is attested as the name of a god in Khanty, Komi, Udmurt. In Kalevala-metre poetry, the diminutive suffix -nen enabled the formation of the name Ilmarinen, ilmari is believed to have taken on the qualities of a smith through the Proto-Finnic contact with iron-working cultures, such as the Indo-European Balts or speakers of Common Germanic. Ilmarinen is also appealed to for aid in several incantation runes. Insofar as Elias Lönnrot heavily redacted the original runes collected by him and others, other names for Ilmarinen that are found in rune variants include Ilmorinen and Ilmollini. When the old sage, Väinämöinen, was traveling wide in the search of a wife, he was captured by the old mistress of Pohjola, the land of the North. In return for giving him safe passage from the land of Pohjola back to his country, the enchantress Louhi of Pohjola wanted to have made the Sampo. Väinämöinen replied that he could not make her one, but that Ilmarinen could, in return for this wondrous device, Louhi would also give Ilmarinen her daughters hand in marriage. On having returned home, Väinämöinen tries to awe Ilmarinen with tales of the maidens beauty, Ilmarinen sees through the ruse, however, and refuses. Not to be outdone, Väinämöinen tricks the smith into climbing a fir tree trying to bring down moonlight that is glimmering on the branches, conjuring a storm-wind with his magical song, Väinämöinen then blows Ilmarinen away to Pohjola. Once there, Ilmarinen is approached by the hag, Louhi, and her daughter, the Maiden of Pohjola. For three days, he sought a place to build a great forge, in that forge he placed metals and started working, tending the magic fire with help of the slaves of Pohjola. On the first day, Ilmarinen looked down into the flames and saw that the metal had taken the form of a crossbow with a golden arch, a copper shaft and quarrel-tips of silver. But the bow had a spirit, asking for a new victim each day. On the second day, there came a ship from the fire, with ribs of gold. Though beautiful to behold, it too was evil at heart, being too eager to rush towards battle, on the third day, a metal cow emerged, with golden horns and the sun and the stars on its brow

17.
Louhi
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Louhi is a wicked queen of the land known as Pohjola in Finnish, Karelian and Lappish mythology. As many mythological creatures and objects are easily conflated and separated in Finnish mythology, Louhi is described as a powerful and evil witch queen ruling over the northern realm of Pohjola, with the ability to change shape and weave mighty enchantments. She is also the opponent of Väinämöinen and his group in the battle for the magical artifact Sampo in the Kalevala. She has a number of daughters, whom Ilmarinen, Lemminkäinen. In true fairy tale form, Louhi sets them difficult to impossible tasks to perform in order to such a prize. Louhi was the main antagonist in the Finnish-Soviet film Sampo, played by Anna Orochko, there is an orchestral work Louhi by the Finnish composer Kalevi Aho, and the wind orchestral work Louhis Spells / Louhen loitsut by Finnish composer Tomi Räisänen. Louhi is the main antagonist of Michael Scott Rohans fantasy trilogy The Winter of the World, Louhi is also one of the names of the witch Iggwilv in the Dungeons & Dragons games Greyhawk campaign by Gary Gygax. In his book Sea of Death, Iggwilv is mentioned as being called Louhi on an alternate Earth, laufey, the mother of Loki in Norse mythology Louhi -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia LOUHI, The deity from Finnish Mythology

18.
Iku-Turso
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Iku-Turso is a malevolent sea monster in Finnish mythology. Nowadays Meritursas means octopus in Finnish, named after Iku-Turso, however, it is more common to see the word mustekala, the name of its Subclass Coleoidea in Finnish, for the octopus. His appearance remains unclear, but he is described with several epithets, partalainen, Tuonen härkä, tuhatpää and it was sometimes said that he lived in Pohjola, but that may be because Pohjola was often perceived as the home of all evil. In some versions of the spell The Birth of Nine Diseases Iku-Turso is mentioned as the father of diseases with Loviatar, the daughter of Tuoni. The Scandinavian giants had the ability to shoot arrows which caused diseases in people and this and the fact that þurs resembles Tursas gives credence to the idea that they may be related. Some runes tell that Meritursas partalainen makes pregnant the Maiden of Air and she later gave birth to Väinämöinen, which would make him a truly primeval creature. On the other hand, he is mentioned as the son of Äijö. In the list of Tavastian gods by Mikael Agricola, he is mentioned as the god of war and it has been suggested that the god in the list is same as the Scandinavian god of war Tyr, however, this theory is not widely supported today. He is mentioned several times in the Finnish national epic, Kalevala, in the second cantos he rises from the sea and burns a stack of hay. Later, a giant oak grows from the ashes, the tree grows so large that it hides the sun and the moon and is cut down. Later, Iku-Turso is summoned by Louhi, the Lady of the North, Väinämöinen, the leader of the plunderers, grabs Iku-Turso from his ears and using magical words makes him promise to never return from the bottom of the sea. One of the three Vetehinen class submarines used by Finland in the Second World War was named after Iku-Turso, after the war the Soviet Union denied Finland the use of submarines, and she was sold to Belgium for scrapping. Other things named after the mythical being are the Asteroid 2828 Iku-Turso, in popular culture, Iku-Turso wreaks havoc in Helsinki in the Donald Duck comic book story The Quest for Kalevala by Don Rosa. Finnish Folk metal band Turisas is named after the war god, Iku-Turso is featured as a monster in Final Fantasy XI. In late 2009 the professional wrestling promotion CHIKARA introduced a character named Tursas, based on the mythological being. A member of the Bruderschaft des Kreuzes heel stable, Tursas appearance is true to the material, as he wears a mask with a large beard. His nickname is The Scandinavian Messenger of War, interestingly, one of the wrestlers former stablemates is named Ares and Ares formed the BDK with the goal of regaining the Eye of Tyr from UltraMantis Black, with Tyr being the Norse god of combat. The Iku-Turso is featured in the third House of Secrets novel, House of Secrets, Clash of the Worlds

19.
Genius loci
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In classical Roman religion, a genius loci was the protective spirit of a place. It was often depicted in iconography as a figure holding attributes such as a cornucopia. Many Roman altars found throughout the Western Roman Empire were dedicated to a particular genius locus, the Roman imperial cults of the Emperor and the imperial house developed in part in connections with the sacrifices made by neighborhood associations to the local genius. These 265 local districts had their cult organised around the Lares Compitales, the Emperors genius is then regarded as the genius loci of the Roman Empire as a whole. The numinous spirits of places in Asia are still honored today in city pillar shrines, outdoor spirit houses and indoor household, in contemporary usage, genius loci usually refers to a locations distinctive atmosphere, or a spirit of place, rather than necessarily a guardian spirit. An example of usage might be along the lines of Light reveals the genius loci of a place. This is the principle that landscape designs should always be adapted to the context in which they are located, a priori, archetype, and genius loci are the primary principals of Neo-Rationalism or New Rationalism. Pioneered by the Italian architect Aldo Rossi, Neo-Rationalism developed in the light of a re-evaluation of the work of Giuseppe Terragni, characterized by elemental vernacular forms and an adaption to the existing environment, the Neo-Rationalist style has adherents beyond architecture in the greater world of art. In the context of architectural theory, genius loci has profound implications for place-making, falling within the philosophical branch of phenomenology. This field of discourse is explored most notably by the theorist Christian Norberg-Schulz in his book, Genius Loci. In modern works of fantasy, such as Dungeons and Dragons or The Dresden Files, very few genius loci of this form are able to move from their native area, either because they are part of the land or because they are bound to it. Genius loci are usually portrayed as being powerful and usually also very intelligent. Some versions are nearly omnipotent and omniscient inside the area they inhabit, while others are simply vast and this power almost never extends beyond the border of the genius loci. Different settings give different explanations for the existence of genius loci, in most cases, however, the intelligent, magical entity simply develops from the similarly named spirit of place over a great deal of time. In other settings, genius loci are formed by powerful magical events, Genius Jinn Landvættir Shekhinah Tutelary deity Tudigong, the Chinese equivalent Chenghuang, the Chinese urban equivalent Zashiki-warashi Zeitgeist Patterson, Barry. The Art of Conversation with the Genius Loci, essay on the Genius loci in landscape and garden design St. Giles, Tockenham, Wiltshire Relief in the wall

20.
Veneration of the dead
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The veneration of the dead, including ones ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, the social or non-religious function of ancestor veneration is to cultivate kinship values, such as filial piety, family loyalty, and continuity of the family lineage. Ancestor veneration occurs in societies with every degree of social, political, and technological complexity, ancestor reverence is not the same as the worship of a deity or deities. In some Afro-diasporic cultures, ancestors are seen as being able to intercede on behalf of the living, as spirits who were once human themselves, they are seen as being better able to understand human needs than would a divine being. In other cultures, the purpose of ancestor veneration is not to ask for favors, some cultures believe that their ancestors actually need to be provided for by their descendants, and their practices include offerings of food and other provisions. Others do not believe that the ancestors are even aware of what their descendants do for them, most cultures who practice ancestor veneration do not call it ancestor worship. In English, the word usually refers to the reverent love. However, in cultures, this act of worship does not confer any belief that the departed ancestors have become some kind of deity. Rather, the act is a way to respect, honor, in this regard, many cultures and religions have similar practices. Some may visit the graves of their parents or other ancestors, leave flowers and pray to them in order to honor and remember them, however, this would not be considered as worshipping them since the term worship shows no such meaning. This is consistent with the meaning of the veneration in English. Although there is no accepted theory concerning the origins of ancestor veneration. Although some historians claim that ancient Egyptian society was a “death cult” because of its tombs and mummification rituals. The philosophy that “this world is but a vale of tears” and this was not to say that they were unacquainted with the harshness of life, rather, their ethos included a sense of continuity between this life and the next. Tombs were housing in the Hereafter and so they were constructed and decorated. Mummification was a way to preserve the corpse so the ka of the deceased could return to receive offerings of the things s/he enjoyed while alive, if mummification was not affordable, a “ka-statue” in the likeness of the deceased was carved for this purpose. The Blessed Dead were collectively called the akhu, or “shining ones” and they were described as “shining as gold in the belly of Nut and were indeed depicted as golden stars on the roofs of many tombs and temples. If the heart was in balance with the Feather of Maat, at this point only was the ka deemed worthy to be venerated by the living through rites and offerings

21.
Tuonela
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Tuonela is the realm of the dead or the Underworld in Finnish mythology. Tuonela, Tuoni, Manala and Mana are used synonymously, in Estonian mythology, it is called Toonela or Manala. According to the ancient beliefs the fate of good and bad people is the same, Tuoni and his wife Tuonetar are the rulers of Tuonela. At times living people visited Tuonela to gather information and spells, the trip there required weeks of trekking in a desert, and finally the crossing of the river with the help of a ferryman. Shamans could visit Tuonela by falling into a trance and tricking the guards, Tuonela is best known for its appearance in the Finnish national epic Kalevala. In the 16th song of Kalevala, Väinämöinen, a shamanistic hero, on the journey he meets the ferryman, a girl, Tuonen tytti, or Tuonen piika, who takes him over the river of Tuoni. On the isle of Tuoni, however, he is not given the spells he was looking for, after his return he curses anyone trying to enter the place alive. Tuonela is used as the translation for the Greek word ᾍδης in Finnish translations of the Bible, in Finnish Christianity it is often interpreted as the place of the dead before the Last Judgement. The Swan of Tuonela by Jean Sibelius Finnish mythology

22.
Midsummer
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The exact dates vary between different cultures. The Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day of the early Christian martyr St John the Baptist, and these are commemorated by many Christian denominations. In Sweden the Midsummer is such an important festivity that there have been discussions to make the Midsummers Eve into the National Day of Sweden. It may also be referred to as St. Hans Day, european midsummer-related holidays, traditions, and celebrations are pre-Christian in origin. The fire festival or Litha – Summer solstice – is a tradition for many neopagans, Solstice celebrations still centered on the day of the astronomical summer solstice. Some choose to hold the rite on June 21, even when this is not the longest day of the year, and some celebrate June 24, in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Quebec, the traditional Midsummer day, June 24, is a public holiday. So it was also in Sweden and Finland, but in these countries it was, in the 1950s. In Wicca, practitioners celebrate on the longest day and shortest night of the year which has not had a set date since the retirement of the 13-month Celtic calendar, the celebration of Midsummers Eve was from ancient times a festival of the summer solstice. Bonfires were lit to protect against evil spirits which were believed to roam freely when the sun was turning southward again, in later years, witches were also thought to be on their way to meetings with other powerful beings. The solstice itself has remained a special moment of the cycle of the year since Neolithic times. In Sweden, Finland, Latvia and Estonia, Midsummers Eve is the greatest festival of the year, comparable only with Walpurgis Night, Christmas Eve, Ancient Romans would hold a festival to honor the god Summanus on June 20. In the 7th century, Saint Eligius warned the recently converted inhabitants of Flanders against the pagan solstice celebrations. According to the Vita by his companion Ouen, hed say, on St. Johns Eve in certain regions the boys collect bones and certain other rubbish, and burn them, and therefrom a smoke is produced on the air. They also make brands and go about the fields with the brands, thirdly, the wheel which they roll. The fires, explained the monk of Winchcombe, were to drive away dragons, on St Johns Day 1333 Petrarch watched women at Cologne rinsing their hands and arms in the Rhine so that the threatening calamities of the coming year might be washed away by bathing in the river. In Austria the midsummer solstice is celebrated each year with a procession of ships down the Danube River as it flows through the wine-growing Wachau Valley just north of Vienna. Up to 30 ships sail down the river in line as fireworks erupt from the banks and hill tops while bonfires blaze, lighted castle ruins also erupt with fireworks during the 90-minute cruise downstream. This nationwide festival, called Festa Junina, or São João, rural life is celebrated through typical clothing, food, and dance

23.
Yule
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Yule or Yuletide is a festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples. Scholars have connected the celebration to the Wild Hunt, the god Odin, and it later underwent Christianised reformulation resulting in the term Christmastide. Terms with an equivalent to Yule are used in the Nordic countries for Christmas with its religious rites. Today Yule is also used to an extent in the English-speaking world as a synonym for Christmas. Present day Christmas customs such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, today the event is celebrated in Heathenry and some other forms of Modern Paganism. Both words are thought to be derived from Common Germanic *jeχʷla-, and are cognate with Gothic jiuleis, Old Norse, Icelandic, and Faroese jól, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian jul, jol and ýlir. The etymological pedigree of the word, however, remains uncertain, though numerous attempts have been made to find Indo-European cognates outside the Germanic group. The noun Yuletide is first attested from around 1475, the word is attested in an explicitly pre-Christian context primarily in Old Norse. Among many others, the long-bearded god Odin bears the names jólfaðr, in plural may refer to the Norse gods in general. In Old Norse poetry, the word is employed as a synonym for feast. Jolly may share the etymology, but was borrowed from Old French jolif. The word was first mentioned by the Anglo-Norman chronicler Geoffrey Gaimar in his Estoire des Engleis, or History of the English People, Yule was an indigenous midwinter festival celebrated by the Germanic peoples. While the Old Norse month name ýlir is similarly attested, the Old Norse corpus also contains references to an event by the Old Norse form of the name. In chapter 55 of the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, different names for the gods are given, one of the names provided is Yule-beings. A work by the skald Eyvindr Skáldaspillir that uses the term is then quoted, in addition, one of the numerous names of Odin is Jólnir, referring to the event. The Saga of Hákon the Good credits King Haakon I of Norway with the Christianisation of Norway as well as rescheduling the date of Yule to coincide with Christian celebrations held at the time, Yule had previously been celebrated for three nights from midwinter night, according to the saga. Haakon planned that when he had established himself and held power over the whole country. According to the saga, the result was that his popularity caused many to allow themselves to be baptised, Haakon spent most of this time in Trondheim

24.
Estonian mythology
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Estonian mythology is a complex of myths belonging to the Estonian folk heritage and literary mythology. Information about the pre-Christian and medieval Estonian mythology is scattered in historical chronicles, travellers accounts, systematic recordings of Estonian folklore started in the 19th century. Pre-Christian Estonian deities included a known as Jumal or Taevataat in Estonian, corresponding to Jumala in Finnish. According to the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia in 1222 the Estonians even disinterred the enemys dead, some traces of the oldest authentic myths may have survived in runic songs. There is a song about the birth of the world – a bird lays three eggs and starts to lay out the nestlings – one becomes Sun, one becomes Moon, other Finno-Ugric peoples have also myths according to which the world has emerged from an egg. The world of the Estonians’ ancestors is believed to have turned around a pillar or a tree, milky Way was a branch of the World Tree or the way by which birds moved. These myths were based on animistic beliefs, changes occurred in proto-Estonian mythology as a result of the contacts with Baltic and Germanic tribes, as well as the transition from hunting and gathering to farming. Personifications of celestial bodies, sky and weather deities and fertility gods gained importance in the world of the farmers, there may have been a sky and thunder god called Uku or Ukko, also called Vanaisa or Taevataat. Proto Estonian pre-Christian deities may also have included a sky-god by name Jumal, known also by other Finnic peoples as Jumala in Finnish, many recorded legends and myths depicting a supreme sky god are however probably of later origin and feature Christian or foreign influences. Estonian legends about giants may be a reflection of Germanic influences, there are numerous legends interpreting various natural objects and features as traces of Kalevipoegs deeds. The giant has merged with Christian Devil, giving birth to a new character – Vanapagan (a cunning demon living on his farm or manor and his farm hand Kaval-Ants. In the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, cantos 47,48 and 49 can be interpreted as descriptions of the impact, faehlmann also wrote eight fictional myths combining motives of Estonian folklore, Finnish mythology and classical Greek mythology. Matthias Johann Eisen was another folklorist and writer who studied folk legends, many of their contemporary scholars accepted this mythopoeia as authentic Estonian mythology. The Estonian literary mythology describes the following pantheon, The supreme god and he is celebrated in sacred oak forests around Tartu. The god of thunder is Uku, ukus daughters are Linda and Jutta, the queen of the birds. Uku has two sons, Kõu and Pikker, Pikker possesses a powerful musical instrument, which makes demons tremble and flee. He has a naughty daughter, Ilmatütar, during the era of Estonian national awakening the elements in the literary mythology were quickly and readily incorporated into contemporary popular culture through media and school textbooks. It can be difficult to tell how much of Estonian mythology as we know it today was constructed in the 19th

25.
Kalevala
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The Kalevala or The Kalewala is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology. It is regarded as the epic of Karelia and Finland and is one of the most significant works of Finnish literature. The first version of The Kalevala was published in 1835, the version most commonly known today was first published in 1849 and consists of 22,795 verses, divided into fifty songs. The title can be interpreted as The Land of Kaleva or Kalevia, Elias Lönnrot was a physician, botanist, linguist, and poet. He was the son of Fredrik Johan Lönnrot, a tailor and Ulrika Lönnrot, he was born in the village of Sammatti, at the age of 21, he entered the Imperial Academy of Turku and obtained a masters degree in 1826. His thesis was entitled De Vainamoine priscorum fennorum numine, the monographs second volume was destroyed in the Great Fire of Turku the same year. In the spring of 1828, he set out with the aim of collecting folk songs, rather than continue this work, though, he decided to complete his studies and entered Imperial Alexander University in Helsinki to study medicine. He earned a degree in 1832. In January 1833, he started as the health officer of Kainuu and began his work on collecting poetry. Throughout his career Lönnrot made a total of eleven field trips within a period of fifteen years, prior to the publication of the Kalevala, Elias Lönnrot compiled several related works, including the three-part Kantele, the Old Kalevala and the Kanteletar. Finnish folk poetry was first written down in the 17th century and collected by hobbyists, despite this, the majority of Finnish poetry remained only in the oral tradition. He hoped that such an endeavour would incite a sense of nationality, in 1820, Reinhold von Becker founded the journal Turun Wiikko-Sanomat and published three articles entitled Väinämöisestä. These works were an inspiration for Elias Lönnrot in creating his masters thesis at Turku University, in the 19th century, collecting became more extensive, systematic and organised. Altogether, almost half a million pages of verse have been collected and archived by the Finnish Literature Society and other collectors in what are now Estonia, the publication Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot published 33 volumes containing 85,000 items of poetry over a period of 40 years. They have also archived 65,000 items of poetry that remain unpublished, the chronology of this oral tradition is uncertain. The oldest themes have been interpreted to have their roots in distant, unrecorded history, the newest events seem to be from the Iron Age. Finnish folklorist Kaarle Krohn proposes that 20 of the 45 poems of The Kalevala are of possible Ancient Estonian origin or they at least deal with a motif of Estonian origin. It is understood that during the Finnish reformation in the 16th century the clergy forbade all telling and singing of pagan rites and stories, in conjunction with the arrival of European poetry and music this caused a significant reduction in the number of traditional folk songs and their singers

26.
Estonian neopaganism
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Estonian Neopaganism, or the Estonian native faith, is the name, in English, for a grouping of contemporary revivals of the indigenous Pagan religion of the Estonian people. Both the kinds of the movement are administered by the Maavalla Koda organization, according to Ahto Kaasik, an unspecified 2002 survey revealed that 11% of the population of Estonia claimed that out of all the religions they have the warmest feelings towards Taaraism and Maausk. Taaraism was founded in 1928 by members of the intelligentsia with the aim of reaffirming traditional Estonian culture, viewing Christianity as a universal and foreign religion brought by the Germans, they turned to indigenous religion with its many deities. Taaraists hold a monistic or monotheistic worldview in all the gods are aspects of one only pantheistic reality. They re-established the hiis, sacred groves, and coined the term hiislar to denote their clergy, the first hiis was founded in 1933, it was Tallinna Hiis. There were several thousand members by 1940, but later the movement was banned under the Soviet Union, nowadays the foremost center of the Taaraists is in the city of Tartu. Maausk is an activist movement of nature worship, local gods worship and it stresses the claimedly non-Christian and non-European roots and tradition of Estonian culture. The Maausk movement emerged in the 1980s and its mostly a polytheistic-pantheistic faith identifying the divine with nature itself. In their annual cyclic calendar the most important holy days are the Jõulud and the Jõulukuu on 25 December, the solstice, the Munadepühad, the Leedopäev. Their shrines are hiis or any other natural place, a shrine is a location which may have ancient trees, glacial boulders, bodies of water or unique plants. There may be a swing, fireplace, sauna and a log storage shed at the shrine, people go to various shrines during important festivals or other important occasions, to establish harmony with nature, experience peace and gather strength. Before going to the shrine, body and mind must be purified and their ethics emphasises mõnu or mõnus, enjoyment or more accurately harmonious life or balance. Maausk, the system of indigenous Estonians. Presentation at KLENK2011, published on January 7,2012

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Mari native religion
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The Mari native religion, or Mari Paganism, is the ethnic religion of the Mari people, a Volga Finnic ethnic group based in the republic of Mari El, in Russia. The religion has undergone changes over time, particularly under the influence of neighbouring monotheisms, in the last few decades, while keeping its traditional features in the countryside, an organised Neopagan-kind revival has taken place. The Mari religion is based on the worship of the forces of nature, before the spread of monotheistic teachings amongst the Mari, they worshipped many gods, while recognising the primacy of a Great God, Kugu Jumo. In the 19th century, influenced by monotheism, the Pagan beliefs altered, some activists claim that the Mari native religion believers are subject to pressure by Russian authorities as part of a wider campaign to Russify Mari culture. Vitaly Tanakov, an adherent of the faith, was charged with inciting religious, national, social, followers of the Mari native religion perform public rituals and mass prayers and conduct charitable, cultural and educational activities. They train and educate the younger generation and publish and distribute religious literature, currently, there are four regional Mari native religion organizations. Prayer meetings and mass prayers are held in accordance with the calendar, it always takes into account the position of the Moon. Public prayers are held, usually in the sacred groves, ceremonies are held by a rank of priests. There is a significant discrepancy between the pantheons of the Lowlands Mari, who worship roughly 140 gods, and Highlands Mari, however most of these deities are different forms of other gods. Nine deities are the most important ones, and these are said to be hypostases of the high god Osh Kugu Jumo. The Mari native religion includes tree worship and animal sacrifices, the religion is one of Europes indigenous religions of unbroken lineage which have survived Christianisation, although it has co-existed with Russian Orthodoxy for generations. Many Mari today are baptized as Christians yet they attend traditional prayers rather than Church services, a sociological survey conducted in 2004 found that about 15 percent of the population of Mari El consider themselves adherents of the Mari native religion. Since Mari make up just 45 percent of the population of 700,000. A similar number was claimed by Victor Schnirelmann, for whom between a quarter and a half of the Mari either worship the Pagan gods or are adherents of Neopagan groups. Some gods and spirits in the Mari pantheon, Kugu Jumo, tul, god of fire, attribute of Kugu Jumo. Surt, spirit of the household, attribute of Kugu Jumo, saksa, god of fertility, attribute of Kugu Jumo. Tutyra, god of fog, attribute of Kugu Jumo, and other attributes of the godhead. Purysho, the god of fate, the caster and the creator of the future of all men, shudyr-Shamych, the god of the stars

28.
Mordvin native religion
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The religion is often called Mastorava, from the homonymous epic poem or the mother goddess of the Mordvin pantheon. The name of the god according to the Mordvin tradition is Ineshkipaz. The Neopagan revival was started in 1990, alongside that of other native religions in Russia. According to scholar Victor Schnirelmann, 2% of the Mordvins adhere to the Mordvin native faith, adherents of the Erzyan Mastor organisation organise the Rasken Ozks, a national Mordvin worship service held yearly, with participation also of members of the Mastorava organisation and other ones. The revival of the Mordvin native religion has grown alongside, and with the support, of Mordvin nationalism which started in the last years of the Soviet regime. The revival of the consciousness of the Mordvins was difficult at first, since they were a minority in their country and the press. The Russian democrats and communists were hostile towards Mordvin nationalists, later the Saransk Ministry of Culture endorsed the revival of Mordvin culture and Paganism, arousing outcry from local Orthodox bishops. The Mastorava organisation was established in 1990 with the aim of restoring the Moksha and Erzya ethnic communities, the association is officially registered in Moscow since 2002. The current president is Nikolaj Vasilevich Butilov, the Erzyan Mastor is a more recent organisation splintering from the Mastorava association. At first it was headed by Raisa Kemaikina, the group is focused on the Erzya, has political aims for the spread of Mordvin-Erzya Paganism, and is militant against Christianity. In 1992 Kemaikina released the following declarations to the Chuvash newspaper Atlas, answering to a question about her attitude towards Christianity, in its role as the official state religion of Russia, Christianity suffocated the religions of other nations, transforming them into involuntary spiritual slaves. T is worse than a prison, sooner or later people get out of prison and become masters of their own fate again. A prisoner is someone who has lost his or her freedom temporarily, but a slave is not a prisoner — he doesnt even desire freedom. Over the course of many centuries Christianity has bred our peoples into slaves, depriving them of freedom of thought, in the Erzya religion the relationship between God and human beings is different from that in Christianity. It is deeper, more humane, more beautiful, in our religion a persons worth is not killed or suppressed, but extolled. You never hear things like you are Gods slave, or turn the other cheek, or if someone takes your coat give them your shirt as well, in 1992 Kemaikina organised the first Pagan national ritual after decades or even centuries, sponsored by Mordovian businessmen. Neighbouring villages learned long-forgotten Pagan prayers and Kemaikina was proclaimed the first priestess of the Erzya people, go home”, A Revival of Neo-Paganism between the Baltic Sea and Transcaucasia. Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol.17, No, religious Developments among the Volga Nations as a Model for the Russian Federation

29.
Chuvash people
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The Chuvash people are a Turkic ethnic group, native to an area stretching from the Volga Region to Siberia. Most of them live in Republic of Chuvashia and surrounding areas, the Tabghach An early medieval Xianbei clan and founders of the Northern Wei dynasty in China. The Old Turkic name Tabghach was used by some Inner Asian peoples to refer to China long after this dynasty, gerard Clauson has shown that through regular sound changes, the clan name Tabghach may have transformed to the ethnonym Chuvash. There are rival schools of thought on the origin of the Chuvash people, one is that they originated from a mixing between the Turkic Sabir tribes of Volga Bulgaria and also according to some researches with local Finno-Ugric populations. Another is that the Chuvash are a remainder of the pre-Volga Bulgar population of the Volga region and they are unusually susceptible to Osteopetrosis, with a prevalence of 1 of every 3, 500–4,000 newborns. The closest ancestors of the Chuvashes seem to be the Turkic Volga Bulgars and it cannot be absolutely proven that the Chuvashs are indeed direct descendants of the early Bulgars, but it is does seem very likely. Racially, the Chuvash seem to be a mixed Finnic and Turkic type, in the samples of the Chuvash DNA project haplogroups J2 and E are more common than the rest of the haplogroups among Chuvashes, followed by N and R1a. According to the data of Rootsi et al, Chuvash carriers of Haplogroup R1a belong to the Balto-Slavic Z282 subclade. A study sampling of unrealted 96 Chuvashes concluded, Earlier genetic research using autosomal DNA markers suggested a Finno-Ugric origin for the Chuvash and this study examines non-recombining DNA markers to better elucidate their origins. The majority of individuals in this sample exhibit haplogroups H, U, and K, all representative of western and northern Europeans, multidimensional scaling was used to examine distances between the Chuvash and 8 reference populations compiled from the literature. Mismatch analysis showed a unimodal distribution, along with neutrality tests, the mismatch distribution is suggestive of an expanding population. Their maternal markers appear to most closely resemble Finno-Ugric speakers rather than fellow Turkic speakers, later, the assertion H, U, and K are absent in Altaic or Mongolian populations turned into virtually absent in Altaic or Mongolian populations. MtDNA gene pool was found to be 89. 1% Caucasian,9. 1% Mongoloid, thus, present-day Chuvash who speak an Altaic-Turkic language are probably more closely related to ancient Mesopotamian-Hittites and northern European populations than to central Asia-Altaic people. Thus, the signal for Chuvashes is close to the supposed arrival time of Oghur speakers in the Volga region. The Chuvash have a central European and some Mediterranean genetic background, Chuvash and the fifth representing present day Bulgarians. From the data obtained in the present work, the backgrounds of both populations are clearly different. On the other hand, whether the Chuvash are a remnant of the Bulgar Hordes cannot be resolved with the data presented in this paper, and further studies are necessary. In the beginning of the first century AD, the Bulgars started moving west through Zhetysu, there they established several states (Old Bulgaria on the Black Sea coast and the Suar Duchy in modern-day Dagestan

30.
Vattisen Yaly
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Thus it should be more carefully categorised as a Neopagan religion. Today the followers of the Chuvash Traditional Religion are called the true Chuvash and their main god is Tura, a deity comparable to the Estonian Taara, the Germanic Thunraz and the pan-Turkic Tengri. The Chuvash Traditional Religion has a continuation, having been preserved in a few villages of the Chuvash diaspora outside Chuvashia until modern times. The identitary movement looked to movements in the Baltic states for inspiration, the national movement, meanwhile embodied in a Chuvash National Congress, carried on its national religion idea during the 1990s. A variety of groups emerged dedicated to the goal of reviving the Chuvash religion, a lot of publications on the religion appeared and artists and sculptors joined academic scholars in the creation of models for the construction of ritual-ceremonial complexes. Periodic prayers were introduced in public life by one of the groups, and it gave the religion the name of Sardash, in Chuvash culture Sar, Sarat is an epithet of the Sun. Arguments emerged among the groups and factions over matters such as theology, the core of Madurovs position is the concept of the Keremet, the world tree, and the myth of Tura reborn in a tree growing from ashes, symbolizing the rebirth of man through nature. The keremets are also sacred trees and traditional worship sites spread on Chuvash lands, the immediate goals of the Turas group is the creation of spiritual revival complexes on the sites of the keremets, and to turn them into cultural monuments and natural preserves. Another phenomenon is the revival of traditional village festivals. On these occasions, reconstructed prayers and blessings are performed along with ritual sacrifices, such rituals are connected to community and family life, often involving rites of passage such as weddings, births, and anniversaries. In Search of the National Idea, Cultural Revival and Traditional Religiosity in the Chuvash Republic, the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research. Religious Developments among the Volga Nations as a Model for the Russian Federation, Religion, State & Society, Vol.23, No. Introduction to the Study of Prehistoric Ethnogenic Processes in Eastern Europe and Asia, go home”, A Revival of Neo-Paganism between the Baltic Sea and Transcaucasia. Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol.17, No, the Chuvash People - An Ethnographic Study & Missiological Strategy Analysis

31.
Baltic neopaganism
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Baltic Neopaganism is a category of autochthonous religious movements which have revitalised within the Baltic people. One of the first ideologues of the revival was the Prussian Lithuanian poet, Dievturi is a Latvian Pagan revival, also present among Latvian Canadian and Latvian American expatriate communities. It is characterised by a theological approach to Baltic paganism viewing all the gods. A common view is that the Dievs is at the time the transcendent fountain of reality, the matter-energy substrate. The movement was started in 1925 by Ernests Brastiņš with the publication of the book entitled Revival of Latvian Dievturity, after the annexation of Latvia to the Soviet Union the Dievturis were repressed, but the movement continued to operate among exiles. Since the 1990s, Dievturi was re-introduced to Latvia and began to again, in 2011 there were about 663 official members. Druwi is a Baltic Neopagan revival religion claiming Old Prussian origins, adherents uphold that it is distinct from Romuva, and that more carefully speaking Romuva could be considered as a specific form of Druwi. The religion is primarily represented institutionally by the Kurono Academy of Baltic Priesthood founded in 1995 and it trains morally mature men and women from the age of 18, into the Darna, as priests of the Baltic people. Like the Romuvans, they recognise Vydūnas as their founding father, Romuva is a modern revival of the traditional ethnic religion of the Baltic peoples, reviving the religious practices of the Lithuanians before their Christianization. Romuva claims to continue living Baltic pagan traditions which survived in folklore, Romuva primarily exists in Lithuania but there are also congregations of adherents in Australia, Canada, the United States, and England. There are also Romuvans in Norway, Baltic diaspora and the rise of Neo-Paganism. Revival of the ancient Baltic religions

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Romuva (religion)
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Romuva is a contemporary continuation of the traditional ethnic religion of the Baltic peoples, reviving the ancient religious practices of the Lithuanians before their Christianization in 1387. Romuva claims to continue living Baltic pagan traditions which survived in folklore, Romuva is a polytheistic pagan faith which asserts the sanctity of nature and has elements of ancestor worship. The community was organized and led by krivių krivaitis Jonas Trinkūnas until his death in 2014, Romuva primarily exists in Lithuania but there are also congregations of adherents in Australia, Canada, the United States, and England. There are also Romuvans in Norway, for whom a formal congregation is being organized, there are believers of Baltic pagan faiths in other nations, including Dievturība in Latvia. According to the 2001 census, there were 1,270 people of Baltic faith in Lithuania and that number jumped to 5,118 in the 2011 census. The terms Romuva, Romovė and Ruomuva came from written sources in East Prussia mentioning the pagan Baltic temple Romowe. The word has meanings of temple and sanctuary, but, further, the Baltic root ram-/rām-, has the meaning of calm, serene, quiet, stemming from the Proto-Indo-European *remǝ-. Whatever religion the original inhabitants of the Baltic region had predates recorded history, mesolithic hunters, gatherers and anglers of the region practised a religion focused on their occupations. Marija Gimbutas controversially suggested that agrarian settlers of around 3500–2500 BCE were examples of earth-worshiping Old Europeans, after this, Indo-Europeans entered the area and brought with them their Proto-Indo-European religion. This religion, including elements from the religious past of the region, evolved into the paganism which is attested in the Middle Ages, the adherents of this Baltic religion prospered relatively unhindered until the 9th century when they began to come under pressure from outside Christian forces. This was the first time the name of Lithuania was mentioned in written sources, Other sources suggest Bruno had been killed for violating The Holy Forest and destroying statues of gods. Beginning in 1199, the Roman Catholic Church declared crusades against Baltic pagans, Grand Duke Mindaugas was Christianized with his family and warriors in 1251 so that the Crusades may be ended by the Church. But Mindaugas still worshiped pagan deities as the Hypatian chronicle mentions and he sacrificed to the pagan Supreme god, Perkūnas, *Teliavelis, and *Žvorūna. Despite any insincerity and realpolitik in his Christian faith, some states of Mindaugas Grand Duchy rebelled in protest. In 1261 Mindaugas renounced his Christian faith as his official conversion failed to placate the Crusaders. Even in the face of Crusaders, by the time of Grand Duke Gediminas, Lithuanians were thus the last non-nomadic people in Europe practicing pristine Indo-European polytheism. The Sami, who remained nomadic, were the exception, unofficially, Lithuanians continued in their adherence to traditional paganism. The Romantic epoch started in the 19th century and this led Lithuanians to look back to their past for both intellectual and spiritual inspiration

33.
Druwi
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Druwi is a Baltic ethnic religious revival claiming Old Prussian origins, and mostly present in Lithuania. Adherents uphold that it is distinct from Romuva, and that Romuva could be considered as a form of Druwi. The religion is primarily represented institutionally by the Kurono Academy of Baltic Priesthood founded in 1995 and it trains morally mature men and women from the age of 18, into the Darna, as priests of the Baltic people. Like the Romuvans, they recognise Vydūnas as their founding father, Old Prussian druwi, meaning belief, is a cognate word of tree and druid, all stemming from the Indo-European root *deru-, *drew- meaning tree, oak tree, strong, firm. The proponents of Druwi have synthesised the philosophy of the movement in the Druwi Four Noble Truths, the first one defines that everything is one deity, Dievas, who is at the same time the generator, sustainer and destroyer. Dievas is the life itself who enlivens all things, the second noble truth concerns the nature of man, which is threefold, physical, vital, and divine

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Slavic Native Faith
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Slavic neopaganism or the Slavic native faith is the contemporary continuation of the ethnic religion of the Slavic peoples. It is characterised by a pantheist and polytheist theology, a focus on Slavic culture and folklore, in English sources the religion is often called Ridnoviry and its followers Ridnovirs. The term Rodnovery, from Russian, is also in use, some Slavic native faith groups also incorporate elements of Hinduism and Vedism. Rodnovery comes from Slavic compounds adapted to English, made up of родная or родной, meaning native, plus вера, Rodnovers generally dont refuse to be categorised as pagans, but virtually none accept the prefix neo-. Rodnovery can also be anglicised as Rodism or Rodianism, which drops the vera suffix, thus meaning simply religion of the Rod, religion of the Root, according to this view Rodnovery is a word that embodies the central concept of the Slavic native faith. Other names that are in use in Russia for the religion, although popular, are славянство or Slavianstvo, which in English is Slavism or Slavianism. The first name has been used by a community in Moscow maintaining that the term Slav originally means pious, the basic structure of a temple of the Slavic native faith is constituted by a sacred precinct at the centre of which are placed the images of the gods enshrined. There are many temples throughout Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. A large, formal one is projected to be built in Khabarovsk, the Slavic Kremlin, a centre of the Yarga Rodnover religious network in the Podolsky District of Moscow Oblast, hosts a typical wooden temple among its buildings. In 2015 the Temple of the Fire of Svarozich, in the form of a building, was opened by the Union of Slavic Rodnover Communities in Krasotynka. Unlike earlier authors, Dołęga-Chodakowski identified Christianity as an influence on national character. It was also rife with literary hoaxes and fakes, such as the Kraledvorsky Manuscript, the Prillwitz idols, as in other European countries, many Slavic nations developed their own Slavic faith movements in the first half of the 20th century. The German and Polish groups were already referred to as neopagan in press articles before World War II. Alarmed by the growth of Rodnovery in Slavic countries, exponents of the Orthodox Church gathered on 19 September 2015 launching a smartphone application of apologetics against the movement. Ecology and respect for nature is а prevalent theme, piotr Wiench has claimed that nationalism is less important than ecology to most groups, describing a movement inspired by nature-based spirituality. Many groups use extensive symbolism drawn from the world and many hold their religious ceremonies outdoors in sparsely populated areas. Wiench mentions one group that dances to drums in the forest near Poznań, aitamurto describes a number of common themes, such as nationalism, concern for the environment, warrior themes and indigenous values. Her analysis focuses primarily on Russian groups, which she describes as heterogenous and ranging from pacifism to xenophobia, Rodnovery in Belarus has ties in politics, particularly within the pro-Russian political scene

The Parthenon, an ancient pre-Christian temple in Athens dedicated to the goddess Athena. Strmiska believed that modern Pagans in part reappropriate the term "pagan" to honor the cultural achievements of Europe's pre-Christian societies

Now lying within Helsinki, Suomenlinna is a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site consisting of an inhabited 18th century sea fortress built on six islands. It is one of Finland's most popular tourist attractions.